Table 2-5 PCB waste storage status (as of March 31, 2005)

Type of waste	Number of business establishments that store PCB waste	Storage quantity
High voltage transformer	3,684	20,731 units
High voltage capacitor	48,691	259,500 units
Low voltage transformer	548	36,114 units
Low voltage capacitor	3,748	1,955,864 units
Pole-mounted transformer	200	2,252,756 units
Ballast	13,846	5,740,284
PCB	230	56 t
Oil including PCB	1,447	179,510 t
Carbonless paper	401	655 t
Rag	1,101	339 t
Sludge	215	34,080 t
Other machinery and equipment	2,575	121,852 units

Remarks: Regarding items that cannot be measured as a number of units or weight, e.g. stored in a drum or any other bulk containers, only the number of business establishments were counted. Regarding PCB, oil including PCB, paper, rag and sludge, from among those items that were recorded by weight or volume, the items recorded by volume were totalized after converting into weight assuming 1 liter = 1kg.

Table 2-6 Use status of products containing PCBs in business establishments that store PCB waste

Type of waste	Number of business establishments that store PCB waste	Storage quantity
High voltage transformer	1,347	5,173 units
High voltage capacitor	8,154	26,860 units
Low voltage transformer	94	810 units
Low voltage capacitor	279	36,292 units
Pole-mounted transformer	7	1,564,229 units
Ballast	1,662	419,633
PCB	24	89kg
Oil including PCB	14	18kg
Other machinery and equipment	1,026	5,492 units

Remarks: Regarding PCB and oil including PCB, from among those items that were recorded by weight or volume, the items recorded by volume were totalized after converting into weight assuming 1 liter = 1kg.

etc. containing very small amounts of PCB that is not expected to be treated may damage the environment because of loss, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive system for treating such equipment. In order for the private sector to develop a system, it is first necessary to examine the feasibility of treating such equipment by using existing industrial waste treatment facilities. The national government has been conducting an experiment for incineration verification in three facilities in 2005, five facilities in 2006, four facilities in 2007, and four facilities in 2008. The “Expert Committee on Treatment of Waste Electric Equipment Containing Very Small Amounts of PCB” that was set up in February 2007 in the Waste and Recycling Committee of the Central Environment Council has been discussing the results of verification tests and how to promote the treatment of PCB waste in the future. (Tables 2-5 and 2-6)

## (7) Dioxins Emission Control

### A. What Are Dioxins?

Dioxins are substances generated naturally in the process of substance incineration (by-product).

Polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxin (PCDD) has 75 types of isomers, polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) has 135 types of isomers, and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyl (coplanar PCB) has a dozen types of isomers. Among these types of isomers, 29 types are regarded as being toxic.

### B. Position of Waste Incinerators in the Dioxin Problem

The main generation source of dioxins is garbage incineration. In addition to this, there are various generation sources, such as electric furnaces for steelmaking, cigarette smoke, and automobile emissions. It is said that dioxins are also generated in the natural world by forest fires, volcanic activities, etc. In addition, a research report says that dioxins contained in once used PCB and some types of agrochemicals as impurities may be accumulated in the environment, such as in mud found at the bottom of rivers or the sea.

The movement of dioxins after they have entered the environment is not known clearly. However, it is known, for example, that dioxins that have stuck to particles in the air fall to the ground and contaminate the soil and water. It is also known that dioxins including ones that have already been accumulated in the environment over a long time, including bottom mud, are taken up by plankton, fish and shellfish and on through the food chain into other animals.

## C Details of the Dioxin Problem

In November 1983, newspapers drew attention to the dioxin problem when they reported that dioxins had been detected from ashes in a municipal solid waste incinerator.

The dioxin problem in waste treatment was discussed earlier, and measures were taken according to “Guidelines for Prevention, etc. of Dioxins Generation Related to Waste Treatment” (new guideline) created by the former Ministry of Health and Welfare in January 1997.

In the new guidelines, an emission concentration of 80 ng-TEQ/m $ ^{3} $ was set as a criterion for judging the necessity of urgent measures. The new guidelines were positioned as a new structural standard and maintenance management standard, etc. through the revision in August 1997 of the Enforcement Ordinance of the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law and the Implementation Ordinance of the same law, and was enforced in December of the same year. The Ministry of the Environment also decided to impose legal regulations on dioxins as designated substances of the Air Pollution Control Law and established emission control standards for emissions from incinerators and electric furnaces for steelmaking in December 1997, thereby regulating emissions of dioxins. Due to these regulations, dioxin concentration in emissions was required to be measured in December 1997, and the concentration standard to be met was applied.